CELEBRATING THE YEAR IN FILM

Out of a possible eleven entries, nine have made it into the Best Picture category for this year’s Academy Awards. Some were foregone conclusions – like LINCOLN, leading with a total of 12 nominations and LIFE OF PI – the most Oscar-nominated of director Ang Lee’s illustrious career, with 11, while others are smaller indie gems, such as BEATS OF THE SOURTHERN WILD or AMOUR, also nominated for best foreign language film.

The Academy certainly seems to have focused its attention this year on such motion pictures that deal with US history and the nation’s pertinent social issues, both historical and contemporary. Running the gamut from slavery in the late-1800s in Tarrantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED and Spielberg’s LINCOLN to the social injustices portrayed in LES MISERABLES – or what happens when the upper class sufficiently pisses off the Third Estate (there’s a warning here, but I digress) – through to the Tehran hostage drama of the 1970s in ARGO; the feral misery of a post-Katrina Bayou community in Beasts, straight up to the 2011 hunt for Osama Bin Laden in ZERO DARK THIRTY. All deservedly great films, although sometimes it can be more interesting to see who or what gets ignored than what is actually selected!

Beginning with the “snubbed” entries, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, one of the finest and most satisfying superhero sequels ever to come out of Hollywood, is notable for its singular lack of recognition, as is that grandiose and inspiring epic CLOUD ATLAS, which generated considerable Oscar buzz upon release. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, one of the year’s most eagerly-awaited films and the first part of Peter Jackson’s new trilogy, scored a few minor nominations, while PROMETHEUS only picked up one nomination for best visual effects.

Kathryn Bigelow has been excluded from the Best Director contest despite her earlier DGA nomination, which is surprising considering that Zero Dark Thirty has received so many other key noms: for best picture, original screenplay and editing, as well as being nominated for four Golden Globes (including best director). Perhaps she is taking the flak for the political uproar generated by certain aspects of her picture – torture sequences, security leaks, and so forth? Other best director omissions are Tom Hooper (Les Mis), Quentin Tarantino (Django) and Argo’s director/leading actor Ben Affleck, despite their nominations in other major categories, all including best picture. They have been replaced by first-timer Benh Zeitlin (Beasts), David O Russell for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and Amour director Michael Hanek.

Neither are this year’s British film makers coming away empty-handed. Apart from Les Miserables and ANNA KARENINA, which scored 12 nominations collectively, SKYFALL, the latest in the James Bond franchise, earned 5 nominations; for sound mixing, sound editing, best cinematography, best song, and best original score.

Contenders for best foreign language feature, apart from Amour, include Danish period drama A ROYAL AFFAIR, Canada’s WAR WITCH, Norway’s KON TIKI and NO from Chile.

Nominated for best animated full-length feature are Rich Moore for WRECK-IT RALPH, Pixar’s BRAVE, Tim Burton’s stop-motion FRANKENWEENIE, adapted from his very early short film, Peter Lord’sTHE PIRATE! BAND OF MISFITS, and directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler for their very original PARANORMAN.

In the best feature-length documentary category, the nominees include my personal favorite, Swedish/UK co-production SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN directed by Malik Bendjelloul, about the enigmatic singer-songwriter Rodriguez.

This year’s best actress category features both the youngest and the eldest nominees in the Academy’s history: Quvenzhané Wallis, now nine and only six years old when Beasts was made, together with 85 year-old Emmanuelle Riva of Amour. They are joined by Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain, both frontrunners for Silver Linings and Dark Zero, respectively, and second-time nominee Naomi Watts for her remarkable work in THE IMPOSSIBLE, the terrifying tale of a family which, against all odds, survived the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand relatively intact. Nominations for best supporting actress went to Amy Adams (THE MASTER), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Mis), Helen Hunt (THE SESSIONS) and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings).

Leading the pack for best actor are Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), six-time nominee Denzel Washington for his role as the alcoholic pilot in FLIGHT, and Hugh Jackman (Les Mis), which comes as no surprise. They are joined by Bradley Cooper for his sensitive performance in Silver Linings, and Joaquin Phoenix for his manic (there’s no other word for it) portrayal in The Master. Philip Seymour Hoffman also gets a supporting actor nod for that picture, pitted against Robert De Niro (Silver Linings), Alan Arkin (Argo), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln) and Christoph Waltz (Django).

As far as soundtracks go, it has been another great year for composer Alexandre Desplat, in line for his fifth nomination. He composed the score for two of this year’s best picture nominees: Zero Dark Thirty and Argo, representing a slight drop from his three out of ten last year. Although he’s up against the maestro himself John Williams for Lincoln and Thomas Newman for Skyfall, both terrific scores.